HAKKARİ - While dozens of people lost their lives due to the military violence and attacks on the border line in Colemêrg, the perpetrators are acquitted with the policy of impunity.

 

The incidents of torture, ill-treatment and beating by soldiers in Colemêrg(Hakkari) and its districts on the border line of the Federated Kurdistan Region do not end. In the city, where deaths and torture incidents have been endless for years, the perpetrators are acquitted with the policy of "impunity". Colemêrg, which is one of the cities where torture, ill-treatment and deaths due to soldier-police bullets are most common.  lastly Serhat, Mahmut Serkan Taş, Ercan Özmen and S. Taş, who grazed cattle in the Navberojan region of Rûbarok (Derecik) district on July 25. came to the fore after being beaten by soldiers. Cabbar Taş, who is the uncle of the battered children and a citizen living in Navberojan, said that people were massacred on the grounds of "border violation".

 

 'THE VIOLATION OF BORDER'

 

Emphasizing that the battering incident in Rûbarok is not a new and not the first incident of violence, Taş said: "This situation is frequently experienced especially in Şemzînan and Rubarok districts of Kurdistan. There have been at least 30-40 violations of rights per year since the past. Up to 10 young people have been killed by military bullets in the events that took place. The soldiers massacred young people by constantly citing the 'border violation' justification. Children know where the border is, our children are murdered even though such a thing does not happen. They have brought the borders to our own lands and the places we live in. Today, they have brought it to such a situation that we cannot keep animals in the village and we cannot do animal husbandry."

 

'KURD'S DEATH IS SEEN'

 

Stating that people living in the Kurdistan region have lost their faith in the law and the law due to the "unlawful" decisions made by the courts, Taş said: "Where is it written in justice that a person is tortured and victimized and then the criminal is portrayed as the victim and the victim as the criminal? If these children were their own, what would their attitude be? If children were tortured in this way in Rize, Çanakkale, Ankara and Istanbul, would they respond in this way? But when it comes to Kurdish children, their deaths are also considered normal, torture is considered normal. Our call to all lawyers in the country; Legal support is essential to prevent such acts of torture.”

 

WHAT HAPPENED IN RÛBAROK IN 3 YEARS

 

Some of the torture, ill-treatment and soldier deaths in Rûbarok that have only been reported in the press since 2020 are as follows:

 

* August 1, 2019: Soldiers opened fire on villagers who make their living by doing border trade in Çemekurk village of Rûbarok district. As a result of the gunfire, 14-year-old Vedat Ekinci died at the scene, and one of the villagers was seriously injured. While the confidentiality decision was brought to the file within the scope of the investigation initiated regarding the incident, the military institution questioned the perpetrators of the incident. The bullet cores, the most important piece of evidence to shed light on the incident, were lost. It was claimed that the perpetrator of the incident, the sergeant, was on duty.

 

* November 30, 2020: 16-year-old Özcan Erbaş, who was having a picnic with his two friends in the village of Bêrox-Isyan in Rûbarok district, lost his life after the soldiers opened fire. A confidentiality decision was made in the investigation into the incident. It was also claimed that the empty shell casings in the area where Erbaş was murdered disappeared after the incident.

 

* January 1, 2021: Reşit Ekinci was wounded in the fire opened by soldiers while having a picnic with a group of friends in Çemêkurk village of Rûbarok Derecik district. Five months after the incident, his brother Celil Ekinci (17) and his relative Şahap Şendul (23) were also wounded when the soldiers opened fire.

 

* May 23, 2021: 18-year-old Mehmet Dinç, who lives in the village of Îsyan in the Rûbarok district, was shot in the leg as a result of the fire opened by the soldiers while grazing his sheep. Injured Dinç was taken to the hospital. It was stated that no investigation was initiated regarding the incident.

 

* April 16, 2022: 21-year-old Tahsin Yalçın and two of his friends, who had passed from Rûbarok district to the Federated Kurdistan Region, were attacked by the soldiers while returning to their homes at around 03:00. Yalçın died at the scene, while the other two people escaped unharmed.

 

* July 25, 2023: Serhat, Mahmut, Serkan Taş, Ercan Özmen and S. Taş, who were grazing cattle in the Navberojan region of Rûbarok district, were beaten by the soldiers. The 4 people who were battered were saved from being lynched by the upbringing of the villagers. While the soldiers who beat the children were still on duty, the soldiers' statements on the subject were not even taken.

 

MA / Mazlum Engin Deniz